Zenaida Oringo

Story

The declaration of Martial Law in 1972 horrified the whole country and with the thought that we might never regain our democracy, my husband Ruben and I were very concerned about the kind of future our children would have in such situation. This prompted us to consider migrating to another country and start a new life. We were then living in Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Philippines.

We began evaluating our qualifications to determine our chances of being employed anywhere in the world our services would be required. With Ruben’s Diploma in Bachelor of Science in Industrial Education and a Master’s Degree in Education, together with 14 years of teaching experience, we thought that he had a good chance. And with my Degree in Commerce and an additional equivalent Degree in General Education, plus 8 years of teaching experience, we considered that I also had a chance. For our children Roehl (10), Zinnia (6) and Rhoneil (2), we were determined to give it a go.

Our journey began in June 1974, when Ruben was recruited by Papua New Guinea Government to work with the Department of Education as Manual Arts Subject Master at Tusbab High School in Madang. On 30th November, five months after he left, I joined him and worked as a bookkeeper at Hancock Woodward Pty. Ltd. In 1975, he was transferred to Malabunga High School in Rabaul, East New Britain where I was accepted to teach Year 10 Commerce. In addition, I offered to teach the girls free one-hour evening typing lessons much to their delight and my own satisfaction.

Another transfer saw Ruben at Boisen High School in Rabaul town in 1976, the year highlighted by the arrival of the children after being left behind for almost two years – Roehl now almost 14, Zinnia -10 and Rhoneil 6. This year also gave me the opportunity to teach at Rabaul Secretarial College. I started as a Typing Teacher and progressed on to being Head of Typing Department after a couple of years. Finally, I was Head of Office Procedures Department until May 1982.

Ruben’s last transfer was to the Department of Primary Industries as Senior Lecturer, Farm Engineering, at Vudal Agricultural College until May 1982.

Our stay in Papua New Guinea did not only give us the chance to live with other people outside of the Philippines and acquire a wealth of knowledge and experience both educational, cultural, and traditional, but most importantly, we developed good, enduring relationships with Papua New Guineans and all the European staff we worked with for years, one of whom was BRIAN FRANCIS PETERSEN, our FRIEND and BROTHER who did all he could for us to realise our dream of coming to live and give our children the chance of a good future here in AUSTRALIA – the BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY of FAIR DINKUM PEOPLE and the BEST OPPORTUNITIES for people who are WILLING TO WORK.

It is all THANKS TO BRIAN – now we are all AUSTRALIANS! This all began on 10th MAY, 1982.

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